I watched intently for the first few dowsings to get the gist of the situation, but after twenty or so children had all been dowsed in the lighter to medium ranges, watching kids burst into tears was becoming tiring. Yawning slightly, I nuzzled my dad's shoulder as he stood stiff, watching every single child walk down the steps, get dowsed, and then run back to their parents.
In the case of a child under a year old, the parents would bring the child down the stairs and then hand them to Cuswoth, who would then dip the baby in water and lift them out. The ritual would have the same effect.
Plus, I learned by eavesdropping (I swear this wasn't intentional!), that the dowsing is a sort of ritual that happens every year. Only the heads of noble families and their direct relatives under the age of fifteen are able to take part in the dowsing— after that, you can't attend.
This was proven by the fact that no wives attended with their husbands.
I turned my attention back to Sara, Cidris, and my father, who was beginning to lighten up as he mingled with the couple.
"The situation in Ka'lahid isn't great, right? I heard that the leadership is flawed… four new emperors in the past decade? That's grounds for failure already! I don't get why it's still classified as a Great City…" Cidris sighed as he scratched the long, scythelike horns on top of his head.
Blah, blah, politics! I had almost no memory and I still knew that there was no point in discussing such things! It's not like they were voting.
Hmm…
On second thought, it might be useful.
Since the dowsing doesn't pique my interest all that much right now, it might be helpful to listen to this while pretending to be asleep— lest I didn't actually fall asleep, like Millie right now.
Taking a closer look at Millie, did her horns get bigger?
They seemed to be more… "pointy".
Hah.
Whatever.
Closing my eyes, I opened my ears instead.
"Hmm…" my father glanced towards Cuswoth's direction before replying to Cidris. "Ka'lahid's issue is the people, not the leadership. There's too many believers of the Chaos faction sprinkled throughout the city. They're everywhere! Believe me, it was already bad during my deployment just two decades ago… it's probably gotten a helluva lot worse!" As my father laughed, I warmed up inside just a little bit.
It was good to see him without being wrought with worry.
"Amina must be missing me…" He sighed.
Smacking him atop the head, Sara made a pfft sound.
"Were you never taught to be humble? Amina must be missing me, how can you say that without embarrassing yourself? Even Cidris here, I'm sure he would never… say…" Cidris shook his head darkly as my father wrapped his hands around Cidris' shoulders, making the same motion.
"Well, I'll have you know…" My father said with a foreboding tone.
"Hah! I wouldn't miss you if you were only gone for half a day…" Sara pouted as she side-eyed Cidris, accidentally meeting his gaze. They stared into each other's eyes all lovey-dovey for a few seconds before breaking back into conversation with my father, pretending it never happened.
No, no!
What happened to Ka'lahid?
A great city? Chaos faction? Deployment?
These damn cryptic people, always throwing terms around everywhere and not telling me things! I swear, after this godforsaken dowsing ritual is done with, I'm going to learn to read and write in this hellish language and—"
BAM!
I twisted my head immediately, suppressing a cry that almost escaped my mouth as I saw a disgusting, mud-like liquid pouring from the fountain. The child who had been dipped into it bore a horrifying mark on his face, a grotesque pattern that had been carved into his flesh. It oozed and bubbled unpleasantly.
About now, I should have thrown up.
My father tensed, trying to move, but Sara shook her head.
"It happens every single dowsing," She sighed, lowering her head.
Veins popped out in Cidris' forehead as he was obviously seething.
"M-my child!! No, NO! My only heir, he's my only heir! He's my son! What have you done?! You fucking bastards, what have you done to my child? Serynth's witness my ass! My son… he can't be blighted… m-my wife is an elf…" A man fell to his knees as his child stumbled over to him, falling unconscious in his arms as the other elves watched without moving a single bit.
Even the newcomers, who had been influenced by their veteran peers, shifted uncomfortably, fiddling with their fingers and trying to look anywhere else but the child, yet their gait betrayed them.
I didn't feel much of anything.
Because I didn't relate with this.
Blighted?
What was that?
Was the purity level just too low?
Hah… no use dwelling.
The expression on King Aldeous' face did not change— in fact, it remained so completely level that I would have sworn nothing at all just happened. Exhaling with an air of melancholy, he lifted his finger once again, lighting the flame on its tip and burning away a name on the scroll.
"Kyres Aldwin— heir to Viscount Aldwin, has been judged as a blighted."
"May mercy still remain in Serynth's heart, so that he can walk again."
While Aldeous placed his left hand on his heart, I felt an energy pattern similar to that of a heartbeat in the air. This… a chance! It's shitty, but…
Closing my eyes, I still felt it.
Woah…
Falling deeper into the void, I faintly saw thousands of particles floating around in the air. There were larger concentrations of these particles near the growing strands of light, and they were split into shades as well— white to a very pale gray… wait, what was that? I could have sworn I saw a silhouette… it's gone.
Fuck!
No, the upside! The silver lining!
This was still progress.
Hoo, suddenly, I felt pretty shitty. I'd preyed on a child's misfortune as deadweight, didn't pay attention to it, and tried to use him as an opportunity to further increase my own strength. What a damn greedy bastard, I was.
I should fix this conceit.
I'm not the center of this world.
The world doesn't revolve around me— I should repeat this to myself before I go to bed tonight. Actually tonight, where am I going to sleep? At the cottage, or in the palace? Or maybe somewhere else entirely? I'd take anywhere that wasn't the forest… hell, are my thoughts distracting!
"Emma Blathazar, heir to Viscount Blazathar, please make your way…"
Aldeous' drawling voice returned to fill in the silent passing. Without him to act as white noise, I would be feeling extremely unsettled right about now.
"Wuh-wuh? Alabah?"
… Millie.
I didn't turn my head.
Why are you awake now?
"Oh, Millie, are you awake? Do you want to come to mama? I know papa can't hold you properly, seeing as he's a little rough with children, you want to?" Without even looking, I could tell that Millie was nodding her head up and down rapidly, possibly sticking her finger in her mouth and cooing.
"Cooooh! Coo-blurhhh!" She spit all over the place.
Seems I was right.
Unfortunately, this sweet moment didn't last as loud clapping filled the room, accompanied by great amounts of cheering and whooping. The elves seemed to be very riled. I didn't understand why, until the color of the lights shattered all my mental barriers, hitting me in the skull.
Dark…
DARK
CRIMSON.
The color was like a murky mix of black poison and blood, giving off a damp, shadowy look that wasn't pleasant to the eye. Still, I guess it symbolized someone with the potential of an "Archon", whatever that was. I guess— I mean I suppose, later in their life, they could be someone like Cuswoth.
Please don't.
I hope there aren't many like Cuswoth running around.
Yes, Cuswoth must just be a very powerful individual who was one in a million… but a gut feeling is telling me that isn't the case. From what I could tell, the concept of power and the divine runs deep in this world, going hand-in-hand with spirit and soul as well. Plus, seeing those particles of energy in the air, I can only assume "power" is everywhere around us, acting as a force.
Sigh… this might be very difficult.
I can't do anything at four months of age!
I must wait.
"Listor Dilancythus, second-eldest heir to Viscount Dilancythus, under the witness of Serynth, is now the current purest elf of the young generation. As such, he will be given a "mark" and undergo special training along with Archon Cuswoth's students. As you know, the three purest elves of the generation blah blah blah…" Well, the ending was cut off, but that's all I heard anyway. I stopped at Archon Cuswoth and training with his students.
If that was correct…
If my memory didn't fail me…
Weren't Angie and Darius his students?
I saw visible signs of scarring and trauma on both of them— could this mean that they were deployed on some sort of dangerous mission outside of the Sherwood? Perhaps… I didn't know any of the neighboring civilizations, though. But what that did mean, was that those two pranksters were highly pure elves.
I guess I could call them Dark Crimson elves. Hmm, no…
I'll think about that later, I'll make sure to check them out later.
Maybe I could learn something.
But I digress.
At this point, Aldeous had already moved onto the Duke category of elves who seemed to make up the minority populace in the Higher Court, which only consisted of Marquess and Duke ranked family heads. While Listor was being heavily praised by his peers, parents, and friends alike, I saw the drooping, disappointed looks on the faces of the children who came after him.
Humph… expectations.
A terrible poison.
Don't pile too many expectations on kids! This was one of the other lessons the voice of the girl in my fragmented memories had told me… how nostalgic. Always look at the upside of things, there is always a silver lining, and now, don't pile too many expectations on kids. Was this person a saint?
I… didn't know.
That was the most terrifying part.
Shff.
Suddenly, Aldeous paused. I felt his gaze on me.
"The greatest prospect for this generation of noble elves is… Listor Dilancythus, closely followed by Andres Alpin, Stella Alpin, and Theodore Alpin, who were all a single shade of crimson lighter than Listor! Now, we only have a small batch of guests left… please turn towards the south side."
I felt eyes bore through me, my father, and the others.
Millie sniffled a little bit… hell! Don't cry now! Hah… she took the hint.
"Please welcome Sara and Cidris Alpin, as well as Iyad D'jan Lahan!"